Illinois State offensive lineman Tony Reetz, who was slated to start at center in 2002, will undergo surgery Monday afternoon to repair a large bulging disc in his back.
Reetz, a senior from Monticello, Ill., will be out of action at least nine weeks. The best-case scenario has Reetz returning for the Birds fourth game at Eastern Illinois on September 28.
Losing Tony is a pretty good hit to the program because he came out of the spring drills as our starting center, head coach Denver Johnson said. On the positive side, we have a lot of young talent behind him and some time to make adjustments.
Reetz saw action in all 11 games last season as a reserve and as a long snapper on special teams.
